Insulated joint.



No. 771,983. PATENTED OCT. 11, 1904. P. HOLBROOK.

INSULATED JOINT. Prnrmnon Hmm mama, 1903.

N 0 M 0 D E Ll 3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

NIMH? j L l l l. LT

' N0 MODEL.

PATBNTED 00T. 11, 1904.

P. HOLBRUOK. INSULATED JOINT.

UNITED STATES Patented October 1p1, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

PERCY HOLBROOK, OF NFJWYORK', N. Y., ASSIGNOR TOVVEBER RAIL- WAY JOINTMANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., 'A CORPORATION OF VESTVIRGINIA. n

VINSULATED JOINT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 771,983, dated October11, 1904. Application led December 28, 1903. Serial No. 186,;789. (Nomodel.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, PERGY HoLBRoox, a citi- Zen of the United States,and a resident of the borough of Manhattan, city, county, and State ofNew York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in InsulatedJoints, of which the following is a specification accompanied bydrawings.

This invention relates to insulated joints; and its objects are toimprove upon the construction of such joints and obtain improved 'triccontinuity of the rails.

insulating qualities and improved means for maintaining the insulationin position beneath the rails.

Further objects of the invention will hereinafter appear; and to theseends'the invention consists of joints for carrying out the above objectsembodying the features of construction, combination of elements, andarrangement of parts, substantially as hereinafter fully described andclaimed in this specification and shown in the accompanyingdrawings, inwhicha Figures l and 2 are transverse sectional views of jointsembodying the invention. Fig. 3 is a plan view of a joint. Fig. 4L is aside elevation of a joint.

Referring to the drawings, A and B represent the meeting ends of rails,and C is aV railchair having a base D and an upright E. Arranged alongthe webs of the rails are the filling-blocks F, Fig. 2', of suitablematerial, as wood. At one side of the joint opposite the upright E isthe metallic band or strap G. Suitable bolts H are provided for holdingthe parts of the joints together, and a suiiicient number of said boltsare insulated from the upright E and the strap to protect the elec- Inthis instance the usual insulating-sleeves I and washers .I are providedfor the bolts.

In Fig. l instead of insulating-blocks F at each side of the railsfilling-pieces K are provided in the form of spools, which may be of anysuitable material as metal or insulation. In this instance they areshown as metal, and hence' are insulated from the upright E and strap G.

The insulation beneath the bases of the rails, or beneath at leastone ofthem, consists of a plurality of layers of material, as shown. Ifdesired, these layers of material may be secured together by theinsulating-rivets L. As shown, the uppermost layer O consists of a fiatsheet of fiber or other suitable material, while the undermost layer Pin Fig. l extends upwardly so as to be clamped tightly between the partsof the joint to hold the insulation in position. According to thisinvention one layer of the insulation is extended upwardly and clampedbetween portions of the joint at the inside of the joint on the innerside of the rail-webs. By the inside of the joint is meant that side ofthe joint which faces the opposite rails. Those portions of the jointwhich face outwardly away from the track are ordinarily called the outersides of the joints, while those portions which face inwardly towardeach other when the joints are in track are called the inside? portionsof the joint. In ordinary construction the upright of the angle-chair isplaced upon the outside of the rails,

while the strap or bolt-plate is on the inside, A

or, in other words, on that side of the rails along which thewheel-Hanges pass. In Fig. l the undermost layer P is clamped betweenthe strap G and the filling-pieces K, which affords a suitableconstruction. The undermost layer P may be of the same thickness as theupper layer O, or it may be of different thickness, and both layers mayconsist of ber or any other suitable insulation, as insulating-cloth, orone of the layers, as the upper layer,`may consist of fiber andthe lowerone may consist of thin insulating-cloth. In Fig. 2 the undermost layerO consists of a flat sheet, while the uppermost layer P is extendedupwardly to be clamped between the parts of the joint. In Fig. 2 saidupper layer is clamped between one of the filling-blocks F and the metalband G.

One of the great advantages of securing the insulation, as shown inFigs. l and 2, resides in the fact that the insulation may be repairedor replaced by simply removing the bolts and the metal band G. I/Vhenthis is done, the insulation may be slipped from under the rails. Hencegreater accessibility than heretofore is afforded to the insulation. 1tis preferable to use two layers rather than one or a plurality oflayers, because the wear upon the insulation beneath the rails is veryg'reat and a possibility of short circuits is very greatly Vguardedagainst according to this invention. In all of the figures theinsulating' layer, which is extended' upwardly to be clamped betweenparts of the joint, serves to hold the insulation in position, and thisis true whether the insulating-rivets are pro vided or not-that is tosay, it is found that even Without any rivets L one layer of insulationwill not slip materially without the other, and since one is held bothare held.

Obviously some features of this invention may be used without others,and the invention may be embodied in widelywarying forms.

Therefore` without limiting' the invention to the constructions shownand described nor enumerating equivalents, I Claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, the following:

l.A An insulated rail-joint, comprising the meeting' ends of rails andbolt-plates for maintaining them in alinement, insulation beneath thebase of at least one of the rails, said insulation comprising' aplurality of layers, one of said layers being' extended upwardly andclamped against the bolt-plate at the inside of the joint, said clampedportion of the insulation being' situated inside of the rail-webs ineontradistinetion to being secured at a portion of the joint outside ofthe rail-webs, for substantially the purposes set forth.

2. An insulated rail-joint, comprising the meeting' ends of rails, arail-chair having' a base and an upright, means for maintaining therails in alinement, a metallic bar on the side of the joint opposite theupright, insulation beneath the bases of at least one of the rails, saidinsulation being' extended upwardly and clamped against the metallic baron the inside of the joint, whereby said insulation may be inspected andremoved loy` loosening the bolts without disturbing the rail-chair, forsubstantially the purposes set forth.

3. An insulated rail-joint, comprising' the meeting ends of rails7 arail-chair having a base and an upright, means for maintaining' therails in alinement, a metallic bar opposite the uprig'ht, insulationbeneath the base of at least one of the rails, said insulationcomprising' a plurality of layers of material, one layer consisting of afiat sheet, and the other layer being' provided with anupwardly-extending portion clamped against the metal bar at the insideof the joint, for substantially the purposes set forth.

ln testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

A. L. 'OBRIEM OLIN A. FosTER.

